If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
...
Inside, he could hear Shaun's voice faintly through an open window, narrating some elaborate scenario to Codsworth involving heroic robots and suspicious toast.
Shaun's voice carried through the open window in bursts of excitement and absolute conviction.
"…and then the robot detective said, 'This toast is suspicious!'"
There was a metallic pause.
Then Codsworth's perfectly polite voice answered from somewhere inside the kitchen.
"Master Shaun, I regret to inform you that toast rarely participates in organized criminal activity."
Sico leaned lightly against the porch railing for a moment, listening.
Shaun protested immediately.
"That's exactly what the toast wants you to think!"
The argument continued in the tone of two individuals who were both absolutely certain they were correct.
Sico couldn't stop the quiet smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The Commonwealth was still a dangerous place.
Still broken in many ways.
But hearing a child argue about the moral alignment of toast… that was the kind of ordinary the world had been missing for two centuries.
He pushed off the railing and stepped inside.
The warmth of the house wrapped around him immediately.
Codsworth hovered near the counter, holding a plate that clearly had once contained toast but now held only crumbs and a few tragic-looking edges.
Shaun stood on a chair nearby, gesturing dramatically with a wooden spoon like it was a courtroom pointer.
"…and that's why detectives must always investigate breakfast!"
Both of them stopped when they noticed Sico.
Shaun straightened.
"Oh. Hi."
Codsworth gave a polite hover.
"Welcome home, sir."
Sico folded his arms.
"Should I ask?"
Shaun pointed at the plate.
"The toast was suspicious."
Codsworth sighed faintly.
"It was slightly overcooked."
"Suspicious."
"Overcooked."
Sico looked between them.
"…I'm going to assume the investigation concluded successfully."
Shaun nodded very seriously.
"We ate the evidence."
Codsworth murmured something that sounded suspiciously like merciful heavens.
The evening drifted into a comfortable rhythm after that.
Dinner.
Stories.
Shaun insisting that Codsworth needed to add "detective training" to his daily duties.
By the time night settled fully over Sanctuary, lanterns glowed softly along the street and most settlers had retreated indoors.
Nora returned late, the soft blue shimmer of Institute teleportation lighting the yard briefly before fading.
Shaun ran outside the moment he heard the sound.
"Mom!"
She barely had time to brace before he collided into her in a full-force hug.
"Hey there," she laughed, kneeling to steady him.
Inside, the night carried on with quiet warmth.
Conversation flowed easily.
Eventually, Shaun fell asleep halfway through explaining a complicated theory about why Codsworth might secretly be the Commonwealth's greatest detective.
They carried him upstairs.
The house settled again.
Soft breathing.
Quiet walls.
The promise of another morning.
The next day began earlier.
Earlier than comfort.
Earlier than laziness.
The Commonwealth rarely allowed either.
Sico arrived at the Freemasons headquarters while the morning light still stretched long and pale across the streets.
Guards at the entrance nodded as he passed.
"Morning, sir."
"Morning."
Inside, the building already hummed with activity.
Messengers moving between offices.
Clerks organizing shipment manifests.
A patrol unit heading out the front doors with rifles slung and quiet determination.
The machine was moving again.
He reached his office, closed the door behind him, and sat.
Paperwork waited exactly where he had left it.
The stack hadn't magically shrunk overnight.
He pulled the first folder forward and began.
Supply audits.
Security clearances.
Settlement agreements.
Hours passed in quiet concentration.
His pen moved steadily across pages.
Approval.
Revision.
Clarification.
Leadership, once again, reduced to ink and paper.
At some point mid-morning, he leaned back slightly, stretching the stiffness from his shoulders.
That was when the radio crackled.
A sharp burst of static cut through the quiet office.
Sico frowned slightly and reached for the receiver.
The Freemasons network usually ran clean.
Unexpected transmissions rarely meant something casual.
He clicked the channel open.
"This is Sico."
Static hissed for a moment.
Then a voice came through.
Low.
Familiar.
Relaxed in that half-dangerous way that suggested the speaker had once been comfortable around chaos.
"Well now," the voice drawled. "If it ain't the President himself."
Sico's expression sharpened immediately.
"Gage."
The voice belonged to Porter Gage.
On the other end of the line, somewhere far beyond the Commonwealth's central settlements, deep inside the rusting skeleton of an amusement park turned warlord territory, Gage gave a quiet chuckle.
"Been a while since we talked proper," he said.
Sico leaned forward slightly in his chair.
"Report."
There was a small pause, like Gage was settling back into a chair or leaning against something.
"Well, first thing's first," Gage said. "You'd probably like the look of the place now."
"Meaning?"
"The decorations are gone."
Sico blinked once.
"Decorations."
"Raiders got a real weird sense of interior design," Gage continued. "Skulls on spikes. Blood-painted banners. Chains everywhere. Real welcoming stuff if you're into the whole 'terrorize civilians' aesthetic."
Sico understood immediately.
Nuka-World had once been a raider stronghold.
A carnival of brutality.
An empire built on fear.
"And now?" Sico asked.
"Now it looks like a place people might actually live," Gage said.
There was faint noise in the background of the transmission.
Metal clanging.
Distant voices.
Construction work.
Gage continued.
"Took a while. Had to rip out half the garbage they left behind. Raider flags, intimidation junk, all of it. Cleared the plazas, cleaned the market areas."
He paused briefly.
"Turns out folks like not walking past human skull displays on their way to trade."
Sico allowed himself a faint nod even though Gage couldn't see it.
"Good."
Gage wasn't finished.
"Second thing," he added.
"Go on."
"You told us to make sure the Freemasons Republic influence stayed solid out here."
"Yes."
"We did."
Another voice could be heard briefly in the background.
A shorter exchange.
Then Gage came back clearly.
"Me and Shank handled the internal problem."
Sico's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Define internal."
"Potential rebels," Gage replied plainly.
The word hung there.
Not dramatic.
Just factual.
"Former raider loyalists who weren't thrilled about the whole 'civilized government' thing," he continued. "Couple folks thought they could stir trouble. Organize resistance. Maybe bring back the old system."
Sico already knew what the next part meant.
Gage didn't dress things up.
"We shut that down," he said.
"How many?" Sico asked quietly.
"Not a war," Gage answered. "Just a few pockets. Folks who thought they could rally others."
"And now?"
"Gone."
The line crackled softly.
"Look," Gage added after a moment. "Didn't enjoy it. But if Nuka World's gonna work under your Republic, it can't slide back into raider politics every time somebody gets nostalgic for bloodshed."
Sico remained silent for several seconds.
He understood the cost of stability.
He also understood the necessity of drawing certain lines early.
"You acted within operational authority," he said finally.
"Figured you'd see it that way."
Gage shifted tone slightly.
"But the good news? The place is changing fast."
"How so?"
"Trade routes expanding," Gage said. "Caravans are actually willing to stop here now that they don't think they'll get robbed the second they walk in."
Sico leaned back again.
"Security?"
"Solid. Patrols running clean. Market area stabilized."
"And local support?"
There was a short laugh.
"Still getting used to the idea of not being ruled by psychopaths," Gage admitted. "But they're warming up to it."
Sico glanced toward the window.
The Commonwealth sunlight spilled across the office floor.
So far away.
And yet connected.
"What about infrastructure?" he asked.
"We're rebuilding sections of the old park," Gage replied. "Some of the rides are scrap, but the power grid around the central plaza? Still salvageable."
"And Shank?"
"Busy," Gage said. "He's been organizing settlement expansion outside the park walls."
Another pause.
Then Gage's voice lowered slightly.
"I'll be straight with you, boss."
"Go ahead."
"Nuka World used to run on fear."
Sico said nothing.
"Now it's running on something else," Gage continued.
"Which is?"
"Structure."
He chuckled quietly.
"Never thought I'd see the day."
Sico leaned his elbow on the desk.
"Neither did I."
The line buzzed softly.
"But it's working," Gage said.
"Good."
"You should come see it sometime," Gage added. "Place might surprise you."
Sico looked down at the paperwork scattered across his desk.
Then at the map on the wall.
The Commonwealth.
Trade corridors.
Settlements.
And now, far beyond.
Nuka World.
A place once defined by chaos.
Now slowly reshaped into something resembling civilization.
Sico's gaze lingered on the map pinned to the wall across from his desk.
The Commonwealth spread across it in faded greens and browns, lines drawn between settlements like veins in a living body. Sanctuary. Diamond City. The Castle. Bunker Hill. The Institute, buried beneath it all.
And far to the west, beyond most of the marked supply routes.
Nuka-World.
He had almost begun reaching for the next stack of paperwork when Gage's voice crackled again through the radio.
"Actually… there's something else."
Sico paused.
The tone had changed.
Less casual.
More deliberate.
"Go ahead," Sico said quietly.
There was a faint scrape of metal on the other end of the line, like Gage shifting against a railing or setting a rifle aside.
"You ever get the feeling somebody's watching your house from across the street?" Gage asked.
Sico's eyes lifted from the desk immediately.
"Yes."
"Well," Gage continued, "we've had that feeling out here lately."
A beat passed.
Then he said the words plainly.
"Brotherhood of Steel."
Sico leaned forward slowly in his chair.
The name carried weight even when spoken calmly.
"Explain."
"Couple days ago," Gage began, "we spotted movement outside the park. Military formation. Not raiders. Not caravan guards."
He paused.
"Power armor."
Sico didn't interrupt.
Gage continued.
"They didn't march in guns blazing or anything dramatic like that. Actually looked pretty organized. Professional."
The sound of distant hammering echoed faintly through the radio as he spoke, like construction work continuing behind him.
"Three vertibirds circled the area first," Gage said. "Didn't land inside the park. Just flew overhead like they were mapping the place."
Sico's jaw tightened slightly.
Vertibirds meant reconnaissance.
Assessment.
"Then later that afternoon," Gage continued, "a small group walked through the front gate."
"How many?" Sico asked.
"Five."
"Armor?"
"Two in full power armor. T-60 by the look of it."
That matched Brotherhood standard deployment.
"And the rest?" Sico asked.
"Three regular troopers," Gage said. "Laser rifles. Brotherhood insignia clear as day."
Sico leaned back slowly.
"And they came peacefully."
"Yeah," Gage replied. "Didn't even draw weapons."
A faint chuckle came through the line.
"Which, I'll admit, threw some of my people off."
"I imagine it did."
Gage continued.
"They asked for the person in charge."
"And you stepped forward."
"Someone had to."
There was the sound of wind brushing past the radio mic briefly.
Then Gage went on.
"Their officer introduced himself real polite-like. Said they represented the Brotherhood of Steel."
Sico's fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
"What did they want?"
Gage gave a quiet exhale.
"You're gonna love this part."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"They ordered us to join them."
Sico's expression didn't change.
"Ordered."
"Yep," Gage said. "Not requested. Not negotiated."
Another dry chuckle.
"Just straight up told us Nuka-World would fall under Brotherhood authority."
Sico's gaze hardened slightly.
"And your response?"
Gage didn't hesitate.
"I told them no."
The word landed firmly.
Clear.
Certain.
For a moment the only sound in Sico's office was the quiet hum of the radio.
"Walk me through it," Sico said.
"Sure," Gage replied.
He sounded almost amused now.
"The officer starts explaining how the Brotherhood's mission is to 'secure technology and bring order to the wasteland.' You know. Standard speech."
Sico had heard similar speeches before.
Many times.
"They talked about stability," Gage continued. "Protection. Security."
Another pause.
"Then they got to the real part."
"And that was?"
"They wanted us under their banner."
Sico's voice stayed calm.
"Meaning Nuka-World becomes a Brotherhood outpost."
"Exactly."
Gage shifted again on the other end of the radio.
"You know what I told them?"
"What?"
"I told them Nuka-World already has a government."
Sico allowed the faintest hint of a smile.
"Good answer."
Gage laughed softly.
"Yeah well, the next part got interesting."
"Go on."
"When they heard 'government,' they asked who was running things," Gage said.
"And?"
"I told them the truth."
Sico already knew what that meant.
"The Freemasons Republic," Gage said.
The radio crackled.
"Soon as I said that name, the whole conversation changed."
Sico leaned forward again slightly.
"How so?"
"Those Brotherhood guys looked at each other," Gage said. "Like they recognized it."
"They should."
Gage continued.
"They asked a few more questions. Who leads it. How big it is. What kind of authority we've got."
"And you answered."
"Mostly," Gage said. "Didn't give them a full tour of the Republic's internal operations or anything."
"Wise."
"But I made one thing very clear," Gage continued.
"What?"
"That Nuka-World is under Freemasons Republic protection."
The line stayed quiet for a moment.
Then Gage added:
"And that we weren't interested in switching bosses."
Sico exhaled slowly through his nose.
"How did they react?"
"Not how I expected," Gage admitted.
"No threats?"
"Nope."
"No show of force?"
"Nothing."
Sico raised an eyebrow.
"Explain."
Gage sounded slightly puzzled even now.
"The officer just nodded."
"That's all?"
"Pretty much."
"Did he say anything?"
"Oh yeah," Gage replied.
Another small pause.
"He said the Brotherhood of Steel had no intention of interfering with established governments that maintained order."
Sico absorbed that carefully.
A political statement.
Or at least something resembling one.
Gage continued.
"Then he said they'd 'take our position under consideration.'"
"And?"
"Then they left."
Sico's fingers drummed lightly against the desk.
"They just walked out."
"Yep."
"And the vertibirds?"
"Gone within an hour."
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Gage spoke again.
"Thing is, boss… I don't know what the situation is back in the Commonwealth with these guys."
Sico didn't answer immediately.
"So I figured I should report it straight to you."
"That was the correct decision," Sico said.
Gage continued speaking.
"But here's the weird part."
"I'm listening."
"They weren't hostile," Gage said. "Not even a little."
Sico remained still.
"In fact," Gage added, "they were almost… friendly."
That word hung strangely in the air.
"Friendly," Sico repeated.
"Yeah."
Gage sounded like he was still trying to figure it out himself.
"They asked about our settlement growth. Trade. Infrastructure."
"Information gathering," Sico said quietly.
"Probably," Gage agreed.
"But the way they talked to the locals afterward?"
Sico's eyes narrowed slightly.
"They spoke to civilians?"
"Yeah," Gage said. "Some of the traders. A couple settlers working the market stalls."
"And?"
"No intimidation. No recruitment speeches."
"Just conversation."
"Exactly."
Gage exhaled again.
"My guess?"
Sico waited.
"They're looking at Nuka-World as a potential base."
The idea made strategic sense.
A location west of the Commonwealth.
Open territory.
Existing infrastructure.
Gage continued.
"They'd have a perfect observation point out here."
"To monitor what?"
Gage didn't hesitate.
"Us."
The word settled heavily in the room.
Sico stood slowly from his chair and walked toward the map on the wall.
His eyes traced the distance between the Commonwealth and Nuka-World.
Then further north.
Where the Brotherhood had once anchored its massive airship.
"You think they want surveillance," Sico said.
"Seems likely," Gage replied. "Place has high ground. Old park towers. Wide open sky for vertibirds."
"Strategically useful."
"Exactly."
Gage lowered his voice slightly.
"And if they ever wanted to keep an eye on the Republic… this would be the perfect spot."
Sico didn't disagree.
The Brotherhood of Steel rarely acted without long-term strategic planning.
"What's the local reaction?" Sico asked.
"Mixed," Gage said honestly.
"Explain."
"Some folks like the idea of more protection," he admitted. "The Brotherhood has a reputation for keeping raiders in check."
"But?"
"But others don't trust them."
Sico nodded slightly.
"Understandable."
"Especially the former raider communities we're trying to rehabilitate," Gage added. "Those guys hear 'Brotherhood' and assume it means heavy armor and laser rifles telling them what to do."
Sico leaned one hand against the map table.
"Have the Brotherhood returned since the delegation?"
"No."
"Any further contact?"
"None."
"But you expect it."
"Probably," Gage said. "Groups like that don't show up once and disappear forever."
He paused.
"Figured you should know early."
"You were right to report it."
Gage's voice softened slightly.
"Look, boss… I told them we're under the Freemasons Republic."
"You did."
"And they backed off."
"Yes."
"But if they come back," Gage continued, "I want to know where we stand."
Sico didn't answer immediately.
Outside the headquarters window, the Commonwealth continued its quiet daily rhythm.
Caravans moving along the streets.
Guards patrolling.
Citizens rebuilding a world piece by piece.
After a moment, Sico spoke.
"You did exactly what you were supposed to do."
"Glad to hear it."
"You protected the Republic's authority."
"Always."
Sico turned back toward his desk.
"For now," he said, "maintain your current posture."
"Meaning?"
"Cooperative but independent."
Gage laughed quietly.
"Politician answer."
"Strategic answer."
"Fair enough."
Sico continued.
"If the Brotherhood returns, you treat them as an external military organization."
"Not allies?"
"Not enemies."
"Just… watch them."
"Exactly."
Gage seemed satisfied with that.
"Works for me."
Another brief pause passed.
Then Gage added one final thought.
"But between you and me?"
"Yes?"
"I think they're curious."
"About what?"
"The Republic."
Sico considered that.
The Freemasons Republic had grown quickly.
Faster than many factions expected.
Settlements unified.
Trade stabilized.
Technology restored.
It was no longer just a loose alliance of survivors.
It was becoming a nation.
And nations attracted attention.
From allies.
And from rivals.
Gage chuckled faintly again.
"Never thought I'd live long enough to see the day where a raider park turns into a government territory that the Brotherhood of Steel politely backs away from."
Sico smiled faintly.
"The wasteland changes."
"Yeah," Gage said.
"It does."
The radio hummed quietly between them.
Two men.
Two distant territories.
Both standing on the fragile edge of a new civilization.
Finally, Sico spoke again.
"Keep me informed of any further Brotherhood activity."
"You got it."
"And Gage."
"Yeah?"
"You handled the situation well."
There was a short pause on the line.
Then Gage answered in his usual dry tone.
"Don't go spreading that around too much, boss."
Sico chuckled softly.
"Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation?"
"Exactly."
The line crackled again as the transmission prepared to close.
The radio crackled softly between them as the conversation began to wind down.
On the far side of the wasteland, wind whispered through the broken steel skeletons of old roller coasters and rusted amusement rides. Somewhere in the distance behind Porter Gage, a hammer struck metal in steady rhythm. Rebuilding never truly stopped in a place like Nuka-World.
Inside the Freemasons headquarters, however, the air was still.
Sico stood quietly beside the map.
He had not yet reached for the radio to end the transmission.
His eyes remained fixed on the distance between the Commonwealth and the faded lettering that marked Nuka-World.
The Brotherhood of Steel didn't make casual visits.
And they definitely didn't "observe" territory without thinking several moves ahead.
A long moment passed.
Then Sico spoke again.
"Gage."
There was a slight rustle over the radio as the man straightened.
"Yeah, boss?"
Sico turned slowly back toward his desk.
"There's something you should know."
Gage's tone shifted slightly, attentive now.
"Alright."
Sico sat back down in his chair.
"The Republic isn't operating blind anymore."
Gage chuckled faintly.
"That so?"
"We've expanded our logistical capabilities over the last few months."
Another small pause.
"Meaning what exactly?" Gage asked.
Sico leaned back and folded his arms.
"Meaning we now have our own air fleet."
The radio went completely silent for about two seconds.
Then Gage burst out laughing.
"You're kidding."
"I'm not."
"Wait, hold on."
There was the sound of footsteps on Gage's end, like he had stepped away from someone nearby to focus on the conversation.
"You're telling me the Republic has vertibirds now?"
"Yes."
"Well damn," Gage muttered, sounding genuinely impressed. "That's a development."
Sico allowed himself the smallest hint of a smile.
The acquisition hadn't been easy.
It had taken months of salvaging wreckage, recovering parts from abandoned military depots, and thanks to Mel, the Republic's number one scientist, rebuilding what the old world had left behind.
But now the Freemasons Republic had something most wasteland factions lacked.
Mobility.
Reach.
And a visible show of power when needed.
"Operational fleet?" Gage asked.
"Operational."
"How many?"
"Enough."
Gage laughed again.
"That's a politician's answer if I've ever heard one."
Sico didn't argue.
"Let's just say we're no longer limited to walking everywhere."
"Well," Gage said slowly, "that's gonna change the whole dynamic out here."
"That's the idea."
Another pause passed between them.
Then Sico leaned forward slightly.
"Which brings me to the reason I'm telling you this now."
"Go on."
Sico reached for a notepad on his desk and slid it closer, even though he already knew the logistics by heart.
"Tomorrow morning," he said, "I'm sending reinforcements to Nuka-World."
On the other end of the radio, Gage went very quiet.
"What kind of reinforcements?"
"Ten vertibirds."
There was a low whistle.
"Ten."
"Yes."
"Hell."
Sico continued calmly.
"They'll arrive with a ground convoy."
Gage leaned against something metallic on his end of the transmission.
"What kind of convoy are we talking about?"
"Three Humvees."
"Alright…"
"Ten supply trucks."
"Let me guess," Gage said.
"Fuel."
"Correct."
Vertibirds were powerful machines.
But they were also thirsty ones.
Without steady fuel supply, they were nothing more than grounded scrap metal.
"Those trucks will be carrying aviation fuel reserves," Sico explained. "Enough to sustain long-term air operations."
Gage muttered something approving under his breath.
"That'll keep the skies busy."
"There's more," Sico added.
"Oh?"
"Two Sentinel tanks."
Now Gage fell completely silent.
Even the construction noise in the background seemed distant for a moment.
Finally he spoke.
"…you're sending tanks."
"Yes."
Gage let out a slow breath.
"Well."
"That'll make a statement."
"That's the point," Sico said.
Not aggression.
Not escalation.
But presence.
In the wasteland, presence mattered.
The Brotherhood of Steel respected strength.
They always had.
And while Sico had no intention of provoking a conflict, he also had no intention of allowing the Republic to appear vulnerable.
"You think the Brotherhood will notice?" Gage asked dryly.
Sico gave a quiet chuckle.
"Oh, I'm certain they will."
Outside the headquarters window, a pair of Freemasons guards passed along the street in calm patrol formation.
The Republic was growing.
Expanding.
And the world was beginning to take notice.
Back on the radio, Gage shifted his weight again.
"Boss," he said.
"Yes?"
"You're basically turning Nuka-World into a forward operating base."
Sico considered the phrasing.
"Not exactly."
"Feels like it."
"The goal is stability," Sico replied.
"Stability with tanks."
"Prepared stability."
Gage laughed again.
"Fair enough."
A gust of wind rattled something metallic in the distance behind him.
"Alright," Gage said. "When do they arrive?"
"If weather and navigation remain clear," Sico replied, glancing at a timetable, "midday tomorrow."
"Vertibirds flying straight from the Commonwealth?"
"Yes."
"That's a hell of a trip."
"They'll refuel once halfway."
Gage let out a thoughtful hum.
"Alright… alright…"
Then he asked the practical question.
"So where exactly do you want us to put ten vertibirds?"
Sico had expected that.
Which is why he answered immediately.
"You're going to build an airfield."
Another pause.
"A what now?"
"A small airfield," Sico repeated calmly.
Gage laughed under his breath.
"Boss, this place used to be a raider carnival. We got roller coasters and broken mascots, not runways."
"You have open land outside the western gate."
Gage was quiet.
"…you've been studying the map."
"I have."
He had spent more than a few late nights reviewing satellite reconstructions and Institute terrain scans.
"There's a flat stretch beyond the parking area," Sico continued. "Old pre-war asphalt."
Gage whistled softly.
"You're right."
"I usually am."
"Don't let it go to your head."
Sico ignored that.
"You don't need a full-scale military runway," he said. "Vertibirds can land vertically."
"Right."
"What you need is infrastructure."
"Meaning?"
"Landing pads."
"Fuel storage."
"Maintenance shelters."
Gage was silent again as he mentally processed the project.
"You're serious about this."
"Yes."
"Ten vertibirds parked at Nuka-World…"
"That changes things."
"Yeah," Gage said slowly. "It really does."
The construction noise behind him suddenly made more sense in that context.
Nuka-World wasn't just becoming a settlement.
It was becoming a regional hub.
"And those Sentinel tanks," Gage added.
"Yes?"
"Where do you want them positioned?"
"Inside the park perimeter."
"Front gate defense?"
"That's one option."
"Or?"
"Mobile response."
Gage seemed to like that.
"Rolling steel tends to make troublemakers reconsider their life choices."
"That's the idea."
Another moment passed.
Then Gage chuckled again.
"You realize the Brotherhood scouts are gonna have a field day when they see this."
Sico nodded to himself.
"They already know Nuka-World belongs to the Republic."
"Yeah."
"This simply reinforces that fact."
"Subtle," Gage said.
"Extremely."
The radio buzzed softly.
In the background of Gage's transmission, someone shouted a question about construction materials.
Gage answered briefly away from the mic.
"Use the steel beams near the old ticket booths!"
Then he returned.
"Sorry about that."
"Busy?"
"Yeah," Gage said. "Turns out turning a raider park into a functional settlement involves a lot of hammering."
"I believe it."
Another short pause.
Then Gage spoke again.
"Alright, boss."
"Yes?"
"I'll start clearing space for your airfield."
"Good."
"Got a preferred layout?"
Sico glanced again at the map.
"Keep it simple."
"How simple?"
"Three landing zones."
"Alright."
"Fuel depot behind them."
"Got it."
"Defensive perimeter around the entire area."
Gage nodded audibly.
"We can do that."
"Use concrete if possible."
"Some of the old parking lots still have usable slabs."
"Perfect."
The project was already taking shape in both of their minds.
Gage's voice softened slightly.
"You know what this means, right?"
"What?"
"Nuka-World officially becomes part of the Republic's transportation network."
"Yes."
"That's big."
"Yes it is."
For a moment neither man spoke.
Both of them understood the implications.
Trade.
Military mobility.
Strategic reach.
A vertibird base in Nuka-World meant the Republic could move across enormous stretches of wasteland faster than anyone else.
Finally Gage broke the silence.
"Never thought I'd see the day where I'm building an airfield in a place that used to host raider blood games."
"The world changes," Sico said again.
"Yeah."
Gage chuckled quietly.
"And now the Brotherhood shows up sniffing around the same week we get ten gunships."
"Timing is interesting."
"You think they'll back off?"
"I think they'll watch."
"And?"
"And decide their next move carefully."
Gage gave a low laugh.
"Well then."
"What?"
"Guess we're giving them something interesting to watch."
Outside Sico's office window, the afternoon sun had begun drifting toward the western skyline.
The Commonwealth continued its slow, determined rebuilding.
People farming.
Trading.
Living.
And now.
Expanding far beyond its original borders.
Sico picked up the radio again.
"One more thing, Gage."
"Yeah?"
"Make sure the airfield construction starts immediately."
"Already planning it."
"I want the landing area ready before the vertibirds arrive."
"You got it."
"And Gage."
"Yeah?"
"Good work out there."
The older man chuckled softly.
"Careful, boss. You keep saying that and folks might start thinking I've gone respectable."
Sico smiled faintly.
"Let's not go that far."
"Agreed."
The radio crackled again.
Construction continued in the background.
A new project already forming in the ruins of the old world.
An airfield.
Gunships.
Tanks.
And a Republic that was no longer confined to a single region.
Finally Gage spoke one last time.
"Well… guess I better start figuring out how to park ten vertibirds in a theme park."
"That would be advisable."
"You sure you don't want twenty?"
Sico chuckled quietly.
"Let's start with ten."
"Fair enough."
Another burst of static filled the line.
Then Gage's voice faded.
"I'll have the airfield ready, boss."
"I know you will."
The transmission ended.
Sico slowly set the radio back on its cradle.
Then he turned once more toward the map on the wall. As he saw the Commonwealth, with the growing Freemasons Republic. And far to the west, Nuka-World.
______________________________________________
• Name: Sico
• Stats :
S: 8,44
P: 7,44
E: 8,44
C: 8,44
I: 9,44
A: 7,45
L: 7
• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills
• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.
• Active Quest:-